I’ve never heard of the Daily Meal website, but others have and so, I gather, it’s a fairly big deal that it named the Des Moines Farmers Market as No. 2 in the nation – out of 101 of the best markets. First place was Pike Place Farmers Market in Seattle (Des Moines sure can’t match the fresh fish available there – but we’ve got mighty good bacon!). After Des Moines, the bests were Chicago’s Green City Market, the Phoenix Public market, the St. Paul Farmers market and Omaha’s market.
Category Archives: Iowa
The new Raccoon River Valley Trail spur and great tacos!
Fresh tacos in downtown Perry Iowa!
We tried out the new spur of central Iowa’s Raccoon River Valley Trail on Sunday, riding 38 miles round trip from Waukee to Perry through the small towns of Dallas Center and Minburn. The trail was straight and flat (which explains why we rode so far) and pretty scenic, lined on either side primarily by fertile fields of corn and soybeans. (Perfect for a tutorial from my ag expert husband on how you can tell the difference, visually, between a field of seed corn, the kind grown to produce seeds that are planted to grow corn, vs. commercial corn, the kind grown to feed livestock.)
Having small towns to ride through every six miles or so helped keep the scenery from getting too monotonous. In Dallas Center, we spotted a nice b&b on a side street (The Yellow Swan, see photos above) and in Minburn, a little park at the edge of the trail had some cool old farm equipment that we sat in and posed for photos. In Perry, we chanced upon a terrific little Mexican restaurant off the main drag called Taqueria Villa, serving very fresh, well-seasoned, and delicious tacos (we had the “authentic Mexican” style, trying three kinds – Roasted Pork, Grilled Steak and Rotisserie Pork). The prices were almost embarrassingly cheap – a substantial portion of guacamole for $1 – yes $1. What costs $1 anymore? Add chips and it was $3. The tacos were $2 each. The owner took obvious pride in his food and service, which we greatly appreciated. Word has it you can find him and his food at this year’s World Food and Music Festival (part of the World Food Prize festivities) Sept. 20-21 in Des Moines’ East Village if you can’t make the trek to his little hole-in-the-wall in Perry. We were saddened to see the shuttered Hotel Pattee (hope that changes soon) but impressed by the Raccoon River Valley Bicycle Co., an unusually elegant bike shop in what was once the hotel’s gift shop.
Early 1900’s farm equipment in Minburn, Iowa
Filed under Agritourism, bike trails, biking, DINING, Iowa
NYTimes Iowa travel story – must now get to Goldies!
First David Bryne waxed poetic about Des Moines. Now comes the NYT frugal traveler who had high praise for Iowa in a story this week. And I quote: “Iowa turned out to be the most pleasant and picturesque of the states I’ve driven through so far: It’s not dead flat, at least not for long stretches; its gently sloping farmland reads like some sort of fantasy Americana: deep-green soy fields, wavy rows of corn (which I tried not to think of ending up as high fructose corn syrup), picturesque red barns and the occasional old could-be-haunted farmhouses.” Eating in Iowa: Farm Fresh, Fried and FrugalWhile eating his way across the state, he stopped at some familiar places – The Gathering Table at the Wallace Center in Orient, Short’s Burger and Shine in Iowa City – and he went to one place that has been on my list for ages, Goldie’s in Prairie City (although I don’t really like one of its specialties – Pork Tenderloins. But I do like another one of its specialties, unfortunately- milk shakes.)
He also mentioned a place in Fairfield I need to check out: the Golden Dome Market and Cafe, with a vegetarian buffet including some of my favorites, saag paneer and fresh peach blueberry pie.
Iowa State Fair: deep-fried cheese curds, carnies, funnel cakes
We took three visitors to the Iowa State Fair – two from Illinois, one from Israel – so we covered all the bases yesterday – six hours of wandering in and out of ag buildings, eating things we’d normally never eat, checking out the 99 county contestants in the Fair Queen Contest and watching an Iowa National Guard reserves band from Fairfield play that goofy gangham style song (“Do any of you speak Korean?” the lead singer asked before performing? After getting no response from the crowd, he said “Good” and started the song…)
Deep fried cheese curds anyone?
Along the way, we tried deep-fried cheese curds (too salty and greasy for me); funnel cake topped with powered sugar (delicious but you paid for it later with a slightly queasy feeling); pork burgers (too dry); ice cream from the dairy barn and Bauder’s (delicious); lemonade (solid but overpriced.)
Illinois and Israel in the house!
And we visited the usual suspects – the ag building to see the butter cow, butter Abe Lincoln, rose contest, produce contests, giant pumpkin; the animal barns to see the big boar and the big bull and all the hard-working farm kids; the sheep and horse barns; the varied industries building to see the winning cinnamon roll and winning ugliest cake; the culture building to see the winning photos. We also rode the sky glider, kicking our aching legs in the air high above the Grand Concourse. And we walked through the crowded midway past the carnival rides and games, bombarded by the squeals, screams, neon, flashing lights and tattoos.
Night on the Iowa State Fair Midway!
Filed under Agritourism, Des Moines, Iowa
To the Iowa State Fair with visitors from Israel, Illinois
The Iowa State Fair has lured several visitors our way this summer – this weekend it’s my stepdaughter E. and her boyfriend from Chicago, plus our houseguest from Israel. Next weekend, my son is coming from Northwestern with three or four (he wasn’t sure last we talked) of his friends – from Oregon, Colorado, New Jersey and maybe California.
The weather is perfect today – Sunny, 80-ish, no wind – so the fair is bound to be packed and in its full glory. We got a glimpse of what we may be in for this morning at the jam-packed downtown farmer’s market in Des Moines. And last night, our visitors reported lots of people hanging out downtown at bars like the High Life Lounge , designed to look like a 1960’s tavern, complete with formica, shag carpet and wood paneling…plus Miller High Life beer, of course, (see photo above) and El Bait Shop…
Filed under Agritourism, Des Moines, Iowa
RAGBRAI discovery: b. organic eXchange in Van Meter
the b. organic eXchange
One of the cool things about RAGBRAI is discovering new things in old places – so when I rode last month through Van Meter, a small town outside Des Moines, with thousands of other riders, I wandered into a little shop – “the b. organic eXchange.” the exchange’s blog It sells some handmade crafts and food but also offers “naturally artful birthday parties” – presumably for kids – that includes studio space, an instructor and materials to complete a variety of projects. (You can pick from project themes such as “Flower Power” or “Nature Lover” or “Pop Art Portraits.”) Reminds me a bit of the paint-your-own-pottery parties I had for my kids – or worse, the make-your-own-gingerbread-house or paint-your-own-ball cap activities I used to try to organize on my own at home for my kids’ parties.
Filed under Des Moines, Iowa, THE ARTS
Cool Concert tonight in DSM – Dwight Yoakam
Dwight Yoakam San Diego County Fair 2008 in Del Mar.
Looks like it will be a perfect night on the Des Moines Riverfront to hear Dwight Yoakam in concert tonight! 7 p.m. Simon Estes Riverfront stage. Concert Details here
Filed under Des Moines, music
When next in NE Iowa – Dotzy’s Cafe and Saloon
Dotzy’s floor was made from 275,000 pennies.
Next time I’m in one of my favorite areas of Iowa – the northeast near Decorah and the Upper Iowa River – I must remember to stop in at Dotzy’s Cafe and Saloon in Elgin for a meal. Heard about it from the Iowa Farm Bureau’s “Family Living” (which my husband edits) – looks like it has a great “Cowboy Burger” with cheddar cheese, bbq sauce and crispy onion rings. The place was opened about a year ago by Danielle Dotzenrod, a former Elgin local who returned to town after moving away as a teenager to become a model, actress and single. She’s still in the biz – (see photo below) somehow hosting two shows for the Tennis Channel while also minding the cafe/saloon in Iowa.
Ragbrai withdrawal…
Never saw sunscreen in the gallon size before RAGBRAI.
Now I understand my long-Ragbrai riding friends who are blue once the big ride is over – and this after I only rode two days. I found myself back in my office at my desk on a pretty summer day, daydreaming about being back on the backroads of Iowa riding my bike. Of course, I also found myself aching more than usual – after riding 100 miles over the course of two days. But not as achy as expected. I am enjoying reading the NPR (No Pie Refused) reporters blog about RAGBRAI http://returntoiowa.tumblr.com/ they did a good job of documenting some of the highlights I saw on Tuesday and Wednesday including the photo above (from today…)/ Particularly enjoyed their “pie” chart documenting what types of pies they’ve eaten, by percentages. (Now I know why I couldn’t find any strawberry-rhubarb pie in Monroe yesterday – I had to settle for plain old rhubarb. Still good.)
Filed under Agritourism, bike trails, biking, Des Moines, Iowa
RAGBRAI – Des Moines to Knoxville (about 50 miles)
Classic Ragbrai photo by my friend Gary Fandel (a professional photographer and it shows)
Another perfect day of bike riding weather and another great RAGBRAI ride, this time from Des Moines south and west to Knoxville, passing through some lovely countryside and several welcoming small towns including Runnells (where we were greeted by the local high school’s boisterous, enthusiastic and totally endearing Pep Band) and Monroe (where riders could don firefighter gear and shoot water hoses at a bucket or some such dangling from a line – sounds strange but people stood in a long line to give it a go.)
It was exhilarating to ride out of downtown Des Moines today at 7:30 a.m. with the sun still rising and the air almost crisp and the light magical. We quickly got a taste of what we had in store for the day – with a steep uphill by the golden-domed Iowa State Capital building – and it was way cool to have the route go right through the Iowa State Fairgrounds. As we were riding up the midway in a seat of bikes, I heard one person say “What is this place?” So I put on my Iowa tour guide hat and pointed out various highlights of the famed fairgrounds.
The route was very hilly – up and down and up and down the hills we went. I gradually got more comfortable with soaring down the hill but it was often tricky because there were so many riders. I did see one scary accident which appeared to be a collision between two riders and saw one rider down but she was talking to the people helping her. There were ambulances stationed for precautionary reasons along the route – and we heard some with their sirens activated on occasion.
In Runnells, I ended up joining a flash mob that I happened into – locals and riders all doing a funny dance routine in the street. It was so much fun! I also bumped into even more friends and neighbors today along the route, which is always a kick. By the end of the day, I was very weary but wished I could keep riding tomorrow. Maybe I’ll try to do more next year. Such a great experience.
Last night, Des Moines hosted a fantastic party downtown on a perfect clear, not too hot or cold night – with bands, food, thousands of people all gathered along the river. It was Iowa at its very best!
Filed under Agritourism, bike trails, biking, Des Moines, Iowa
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